Report: “Some internal concern” about Julius Randle’s delayed return

The New York Knicks welcomed back one of their three injured starters on Tuesday for the second game of a mini-series against Philly, beating the Sixers 106-79 inside MSG while boasting a lineup featuring OG Anunoby for the first time since Jan. 27.

That’s the man who came back. One of the two who did not, however, might be in for a longer-than-expected time on the shelf.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, speaking before Tuesday’s game, “Julius Randle hasn’t been cleared yet for contact, and there is some concern about why it is taking so long.”

Begley said that Randle was “ahead of Anunoby” in terms of what he was doing in workouts, but it feels like the Knicks are now “waiting and waiting” for him to get cleared for contact and to play five-on-five. Begley added that “some people internally” are starting to wonder “why it’s taking (Randle) a little bit here.”

Randle suffered his shoulder injury in the game against the Miami Heat played on Jan. 27 when he collided with rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. and crashed to the floor, landing on his arm. Randle decided to avoid season-ending surgery opting instead for organical rehab/healing that should allow him to return at some point before the playoffs, delaying surgery for the summer.

Jared Greenberg of TNT added a little bit more information on Tuesday, ahead of tip-off in the second game between the Sixers and the Knicks at the Garden.

According to Greenberg, Randle is currently “taking part in light contact (scrimmages) with pads during Knicks’ practices,” although he “still needs to do some significant strengthening to [the injured] shoulder.”

Greenberg also revealed that Randle still has to “get the confidence” that the shoulder will not pop out again, as it did when it got dislocated in the game against the Heat in late January.

While Randle will travel with the Knicks during their upcoming West Coast trip, there is “no timeline” for Randle’s “uncertain” return and when he will play with New York again.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau was asked in Tuesday’s pre-game press conference about Randle, and he offered an update.

“The conditioning is good, he’s shooting, doing individual work, that’s all good,” Thibodeau said. “He can do 5-on-0—that sort of thing.

“Light contact with the pads. That contact is what you would term ‘controlled,’ so you know what the move is so you can brace yourself for it. So there’s a progression to what you have to go through.”

Last season, Randle found himself in a similar situation as he suffered an injury with just five games left in the regular season. He decided to play through an ankle sprain then, which clearly impacted his level of play during the postseason including forcing him out of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Randle barely shot 41% from the field and 28% from three in the series against Miami, and he underwent arthroscopic left ankle surgery last summer which seemingly also affected his performance for the first few games of this season when he struggled mightily to get into rhythm before turning his campaign into an All-Star-caliber one.

Following Tuesday’s win, the Knicks still have 17 games left in the schedule, nine scheduled for March and eight to be played between Apr. 2 and 14 when the regular season will come to an end. That said, the schedule is heavily tilted toward on-the-road matchups, with New York hosting just six of the remaining 11 games and only four of the next 15 with the last two contests of the season played at the Garden.

There is still hope for Randle to make a late-March return, but considering the last reports and the information shared by Thibs, that might be rushing things a bit.